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■ How should you respond if confronted by a police officer?
■ If asked to describe the shooter and the situation, what
information would you provide?
If you were to consider the layout of your store, the location
of the store, the demographics of your typical customers, and the
makeup of your employee teams, what additional questions should
you ask?
"Off the Shelf" Doesn't Work
As we're all very well aware, retail is not a "one-size-fits-all"
proposition, and that goes far beyond the size and shape of
the store. When putting together the store, we have to consider
the products that we sell and how the store needs to be put
together, from how we deliver merchandise, how merchandise
will be displayed, and how to best service our customers. We
have to consider the market and demographics where the store is
constructed. We look at the type of customers that our stores will
attract. We have to determine the size of the staff, and how the staff
will be best constructed to meet store and customer needs. We need
to consider how to build our store management, as well as support
teams and leadership both within the store and within our market
areas…All of these factors, and many others, determine how the
store will be put together, and how it will operate. There is no
single retail model, because we sell different products and attract
different customers.
Why then would we assume that our active-shooter strategies
should be bought off-the-shelf and applied universally? Of
course, a single model won't collectively meet every need.
The basics will apply and the concepts will be similar, but the
application will differ slightly based on the dynamics of the
store. Some stores may have a large support staff to include loss
prevention, while others may only have a few employees running
the entire store. Some stores may have vast areas to protect
and multiple offices that are available, while others will have a
small showroom and may not even have an office with a locking
door. Incidents may not necessarily occur in a large department
store. Incidents occur at grocery stores, convenience stores, and
hardware stores. A recent incident at a Maryland mall occurred
in a small surf shop with just a few employees.
This only further emphasizes the need to construct a plan that
best fits the store and the environment, and carrying out practical
training exercises that will effectively protect our employees and
our customers. Our model and strategy must fit our individual
needs and teach our associates to appropriately respond based on
the environment as well as the particular circumstances.
See Something, Say Something
"See Something, Say Something" is a good reminder and a
positive message. It reminds us to keep our eyes open and to
speak up when something appears odd or out of place. By the
same respect, it's important to recognize what may be considered
odd or out of place, and who should be told. "At Virginia Tech
the shooter was seen chaining doors closed just days before the
2007 massacre took place," Hart recalls. "Those were actually his
'training runs.' Although witnesses later admitted thinking that the
behavior and what they saw was odd, they didn't report it."
Similarly, after other active-shooter incidents witnesses have
told investigators, "The guy wearing the hockey mask in the
mall was a little strange," and "The man wearing a heavy trench
coat in an office building in June was weird," but they paid little
attention to what they saw. Do people shop that way? Does their
dress and behavior fit the situation? If not, say something.
"Hear Something, Say Something" can be just as important.
Hart cited the case of a car dealership manager that overheard
a female employee tell a coworker, "If my ex comes into the
showroom with a gun, you need to be my witness." The manager
didn't act on the information. Later that very day the ex did
enter the dealership, fatally shot the woman and the manager,
and injured several others.
ACTIVE SHOOTER
"See Something, Say Something"
is a good reminder and a positive
message. It reminds us to keep our
eyes open and to speak up when
something appears odd or out of
place. By the same respect, it's
important to recognize what may be
considered odd or out of place, and
who should be told.
ACTIVE SHOOTER RELATIONSHIP TO VICTIMS
*Source: Active Shooter: Recommendations and Analysis for Risk
Mitigation, New York Police Department
A New York Police Department analysis showed that the majority of
active-shooter attacks occurred when the perpetrator had either a
professional or academic relationship with at least one of the victims.
However, 22 percent of active-shooter attacks in the research data
occurred when the shooter had no relationship to the victims.
NONE 22%
PROFESSIONAL 41%
ACADEMIC 23%
FAMILIAL 5%
OTHER
9%
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JULY - AUGUST 2014 | LPPORTAL.COM